WEST LOOP — After stints in Guatemala and New York City, the daughter of a Randolph Street food wholesaler is opening a business of her own — back on Randolph Street.
Sylvia Maldonado, whose father founded West Loop food wholesaler La Criolla at 909 W. Randolph St., will open breathe bar, a meditation studio at 946 W. Randolph St., on March 31. The second floor "meditation oasis" will feature teacher-led meditation classes, on-demand meditation booths and other health and wellness services.
Maldonado got her first crash course in business at age 5, following her father Avelino "Lilo" Maldonado on sales calls to Hispanic grocers across Chicago. Specializing in spice blends, Avelino Maldonado founded the La Criolla Foods out of the trunk of his car. After he died in 1992, Sylvia's mother Carmen took over the business.
"I feel like I have this startup mojo from my dad," Sylvia said.
An Emmy-winning television producer, Sylvia Maldonado launched her own career in TV at Harpo Studios just down the block from her family's business and went on to work as a producer at Towers Productions. She was first introduced to meditation while working at Harpo.
"I took the classes and I highly, highly disliked it. I had 'monkey mind,' I couldn't stop my thoughts, and I thought 'I'm not good at this,'" she said.
Fast forward two decades, Maldonado was now living in New York, and a doctor recommended meditation as a way to cope with stress. The second time around, she was hooked.
"As soon as I tried it, it was transformative," she said. "I could feel my heart rate lower, my blood pressure lower. I was really able to create that space."
After working in New York City and working for a non-profit in Chicago, Maldonado volunteered for the Peace Corps in Guatemala before returning home in 2013 to help her mom expand the family business. Leading La Criolla was stressful at times, but Maldonado used the challenges to deepen her meditation practice.
While La Criolla was sold at the end of 2016, the business is still at 909 W. Randolph, and Maldonado is proud to continue her dad's legacy six decades later and spread the power of meditation and mindfulness to the masses on Randolph's restaurant row.
"I created breathe bar to remove preconceived notions about meditation so people can truly see what a meditation practice can do for their lives — we want to meet you where you are at, whether you’ve been meditating for years or this is your first time," she said.
The 3,600-square-foot studio above Starbucks will offer 30-60 minute teacher-led meditation classes that will reflect on a variety of practices, including insight meditation, mindfulness, mantra, sound and visualization. For busy professionals who can't make a class, breathe bar also offers on-demand meditation. Guests and members can settle into a private booth at breathe bar, put on noise-canceling Bose headphones and use an iPad Mini to experience a 3-7 minute guided meditation by Aura Health.
Breathe bar offers two types of monthly memberships: a $75 package featuring four teacher-led classes and unlimited on-demand meditation and a $125 unlimited membership. Drop-in teacher-led classes cost $22 and drop-in on-demand classes are $15.
Friends and family can also split a $225 unlimited membership, and breathe bar is offering discounted memberships through the end of May.
Breathe bar officially opens March 31 with a 6 a.m. sunrise meditation. The full schedule is online.
Breathe bar, a new meditation studio at 946 W. Randolph St., will open on March 31. [breathe bar]
